


Family

by InkRanOut



Category: She-Ra and the Princesses of Power (2018)
Genre: Angst, Basically I fix Adora and Catra's relationship in just 3k words, F/F, Gen, Hurt/Comfort, Prison, Prisoner of War (?), Self-Esteem Issues, Some fluff (I tried)
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-04-27
Updated: 2019-04-27
Packaged: 2020-02-07 11:31:21
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,320
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18619765
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/InkRanOut/pseuds/InkRanOut
Summary: Catra gets captured by the Rebellion. Just when she starts to think that everything is over, she finds herself gaining more than she's actually lost.





	Family

**Author's Note:**

> Hi there! Thanks for clicking on my fic! :D
> 
> I swear I was going to write fluff, but I guess in the end I'm an angst writer. ¯\\_(ツ)_/¯ I tried my best, though! It's like, half and half. *thumbs up*
> 
> Please enjoy!~
> 
>  
> 
> (P.S.: I haven't watched S2 yet, so this fic is based on S1 alone.)

The barred door was pushed open, and Catra hissed at the guard who attempted to shove her in the cell.

“Back off,” she snarled. “I know how to walk.”

The door was closed behind her. Catra heard the guard walk away after locking her in, though she didn’t bother to watch her do so. She kept her eyes fixed on the trembling fists in her lap, and the rope that kept her wrists together.

She knew that Shadow Weaver wouldn’t send _Kyle_ to look for her, let alone a serious unit with actual chances of freeing her.

She wasn’t necessary, after all. She wasn’t Adora.

She was going to be left to rot in this dungeon, and nobody would ever look for her. Even if the Horde did take over Bright Moon, which Catra was certain it would eventually, there is no way she was going to be rescued.

 _If_ she was still alive when the Horde came, she had no doubt her body would end up amongst the remains of Bright Moon.

She wouldn’t miss the Fright Zone, or the other cadets. Her spot on Adora’s bed didn’t feel so warm and safe anymore.

Being so desperate to return _somewhere_ made her realize that she truly did not have anywhere to return to. There was nowhere she was supposed to be.

Perhaps the dungeons of Bright Moon were truly the best place for her to spend day and night, the most appropriate one.

In the end, her whole life she was just moving from prison to prison.

 

* * *

 

Catra opened her eyes.

A sharp pain hit her as soon as she sat up. She ignored it.

The bed in the cell didn’t seem much different from the ones back in the Fright Zone to her, but apparently her body disagreed.

Her head still hurt from the hit, though the pain wasn’t that intense anymore; it was just a dull throbbing that wouldn’t let her focus on her thoughts.

A familiar shadow was being cast inside the cell, standing out amongst those of the metal bars. Catra whipped her head around as soon as she noticed, cursing her heavy with sleep mind for not having caught it sooner.

She wished she had just been wrong; seeing things perhaps, hallucinating even. But in the end she really couldn’t mistake that shadow.

“Catra.”

Adora’s voice was low and quiet, and she looked somewhat surprised.

She put down a small bowl of something, sliding it carefully between the bars. Catra did not move.

“I’m sorry. Did I wake you?”

“You thought I wouldn’t hear you?” Catra smirked, though she could feel her pulse quickening. “What are you doing here?”

“I… brought you food,” Adora replied honestly, gesturing towards the bowl on the floor and appearing confused more than anything. She could’ve sworn it had been obvious, but Catra didn’t appear to believe her.

Catra looked at the bowl for the first time, then quickly turned her eyes back to Adora, as if she was afraid she’d attack as soon as she looked away.

She resented the fact that she was trembling. Maybe Adora noticed too, because her expression softened out of a sudden and she knit her brows in something that resembled concern.

Though Catra knew it was actually _pity_. Ugh. She could’ve become sick just looking at her.

“Are you done?” She glared. “Because if so, you getting the hell outta here would be deeply appreciated, thanks.”

“Catra…”

Adora’s eyes were sad.

“What is it?!” Catra snapped. “What do you want from me? I’m already locked in here, and clearly I’m not going anywhere in the near future. What more do you want?!”

“This is not what I wanted!” Adora argued. “I never meant for us to become like this, to… grow so distant.” Catching herself, she lowered her voice. “Catra, this is the truth.”

“Oh, is that so?” Catra got up, ignoring the soreness, and brought her face as close to Adora’s as the bars would allow. “Fix it, then! Get me out of here, return to the Fright Zone with me.”

When the blonde did not reply, Catra forced a taunting smirk and sat back on the bed.

“Yup! That’s what I thought.”

“Catra, you know I-“

“You can’t go back. You’re part of something bigger, you _have_ to do this!” Catra laughed, but there was no sign of amusement on her face. “You’ve said it before. I haven’t forgotten.”

Not knowing what else to say, Adora fell silent. Catra decided to not humor her any longer, and lay down, back turned against the unwanted visitor.

“I’ll come back tomorrow,” Adora said, finally.

Catra considered saying “don’t”, but by the time she opened her mouth, Adora had already left.

It would have been useless, anyway. Adora never listened to her, not even back when they were still on the same side.

 

* * *

 

Hours passed. Catra refused to touch the bowl.

She knew that she would have to give in and eat her meals eventually, but she didn’t want to go down like this, not without a fight.

And well, she wanted to see what would happen if she kept this up. Would they force her to eat? Would they let her starve to death? It’d be better to know what to expect from her captors.

It was terribly boring in the dungeons. There weren’t even guards to toy with nearby.

She didn’t have the energy to tease anybody, anyway. Her body hurt, and she felt weak. Maybe she was sick.

The next time she woke up, Adora was already there.

She was sitting back on her haunches, watching her with calm eyes. Catra shivered despite herself.

“I wanted us to talk,” she began, as politely as she possibly could so as to not sound like a captor about to interrogate her prisoner. Unsurprisingly enough, it didn’t make much of a difference.

“Then you’re out of luck,” Catra said bitterly. “I don’t wanna talk to you. Get outta my sight.”

“I don’t have to do that.”

Catra laughed humorlessly. “I’m just not going to look at you, then.”

She closed her eyes, placing two arms behind her head to ease the hardness of the mattress.

It still wasn’t at all comfortable; the position became tiring quickly, her tied hands hurt, and knowing that Adora was there but being unable to see her was making her extremely uneasy.

But she couldn’t let that show. She had to pretend she could and would stay like this all day, so that this excuse of a friend would eventually give up and leave her alone. And then the demons lurking inside her head would be able to properly eat her alive.

“Don’t ignore me.” Adora was losing her cool the more Catra resisted, and it became audible in her voice fairly quickly.

Catra hummed quietly, providing no reply.

Adora wasn’t a patient person, and she always let her emotions get the best of her. Catra knew that, she knew Adora like the back of her hand. As long as she could use this against her and conceal her own emotions, Catra was confident she could win this fight.

And oh, she wanted to win, she wanted it _badly_. This was perhaps her last chance to win in something, _anything_ , after all.

“Please. I know we can solve this, if only we try to understand each other,” the blonde insisted. “I want to understand you! Come on, Catra. It can’t just end like this.”

No response. Adora clenched her fists.

“We were friends- no, _more_ than that! Catra, we used to be _family_!”

This time, Catra’s body tensed and she opened her eyes, sitting back up.

“Oh, yeah? I would’ve never signed up for it if I knew that your definition of family is ‘disposable tools’!”

“I didn’t- You weren’t-“ Adora’s voice cracked. “I never thought of you as a disposable tool!”

“Liar! You have always been using me to achieve your own goals! To you and to the others, I was never anything more than an easy victim, somebody you can step on to go even higher!”

“That’s not true!”

“In the end, you’re no different from Shadow Weaver!”

Adora’s fist met the ground. “Shut up!”

She huffed, her heartbeat that of a person who had been running for their life with the Horde hot on their heels.

When she looked up, Catra looked pleased.

 “Fine. I will.” She shrugged as she spoke, grinning. “See. I told you this wouldn’t work. You can’t fix something broken with words alone, Adora.” Her tone was gentle, but the hatred under the surface was evident. “Stop always trying to find an easy way out. This is all your fault.”

“I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to-“

“I don’t care whether you meant to or not! Not everything is about you!” Catra snapped. “So if you’re done reflecting on your past choices or whatever, will you _please_ leave me alone?”

This time, Adora left without any promises of returning.

Catra wanted to think it was for the best.

 

* * *

 

The next time Catra woke up, she found that once again she wasn’t alone. She had begun to get very tired of this.

Well, Adora had to give up eventually. She couldn’t keep this up forever.

“I thought I told you-“

Catra paused, narrowing her eyes.

“The gum-hair princess?” she said before she could stop herself, feeling her face twist into a scowl. “What’s up, sugar cloud? Came to interrogate me?”

The princess glared at her, not particularly amused.

“You could say that,” she said. “And it’s _Glimmer_.”

“Right.”

There was sarcasm in Catra’s voice, though rolling her eyes was too troublesome. She was tired.

Commander Sparkles just kept staring at her, silent. Catra sighed, giving up.

She would have to put some of her remaining energy into getting rid of this sparkly nuisance, but at least then she would be able to enjoy some peace and quiet once again. That was one of the few things she still cared about, and it was undoubtedly worth the trouble of having to interact with the princess.

“How can I help you?” she asked, doing her best to sound willing. She wasn’t sure it had worked.

“You’re seriously causing me trouble right now,” was the princess’ response.

“Excuse me?”

“Because of you, Adora won’t eat, won’t laugh. She’s depressed all the time, all because of you!”

Now, that was going a bit too far. Catra found she couldn’t stop herself from speaking up.

“Because of me?” She jumped up from the bed, a little unbalanced thanks to her tied wrists. “Hey, how about you calm down a little, sparkle girl? This is not _my_ fault!”

“Then whose fault is it?” Glimmer crossed her arms. “The Rebellion protects the people and their homes, meanwhile the Horde only kills and destroys. And all _you_ do,” she pointed a finger at Catra, “is blame Adora for choosing to do something good, instead of taking part in their monstrous plans! So tell me, whose fault is it?!”

Catra scoffed. “You don’t know anything. She left me!”

“And I’m becoming more and more convinced that her choice was a great one.”

“No! We were supposed to be family! She was all I had.” Catra brought her fists to her chest, lowering her eyes. “But then she threw me away…”

Something different flickered across the princess’ face, before it was once again replaced by a cold expression.

Catra only caught a glimpse of it, but it had looked almost like _sympathy_.

No, there was no way. A rebel would never look at a Horde soldier like that. Maybe if it was Adora, because Adora was a victim, she was loveable, she was _perfect_ -

But not her. She was less than trash, she didn’t deserve it.

Catra’s stomach clenched. “I don’t want to talk about her anymore. Can we move on to the interrogation?”

Glimmer furrowed her brows. “The… what?”

“You know. The part where you ask me for information on the Horde in exchange for my guaranteed bodily integrity?”

“What?”

Catra sighed. “Don’t tell me you don’t do that. How do you get information out of prisoners? Do you bribe them with flower crowns or something?”

“No, we…” Glimmer’s frown deepened. “We don’t usually hold prisoners. And there are only a couple cells in the palace grounds, for special cases.”

Catra raised an eyebrow. “So… _I’m_ the special case.”

It wasn’t quite a question, more like an observation that didn’t make much sense to her.

“Do you remember how you ended up in our custody?” Glimmer asked.

“Not really,” Catra muttered. “But I can guess from the way my head felt like it was about to explode earlier, that I got hit on the head and passed out.”

“That’s right…” Glimmer confirmed. “Adora found you collapsed on the battlefield and carried you back. Then she asked my mother to keep you in the palace, where it’s safe.”

Catra found that she couldn’t read the princess’ expression. She had no idea what she was thinking as she said those things.

“She would’ve even brought you to her room, had my mother allowed it. But she only agreed as long as you stayed in the dungeons.”

Catra imagined it; waking up in the palace, not surrounded by guards like she had been, but in Adora’s room, with her sitting next to her. Holding her hand.

She wondered what she would have done if that had been the case.

She wished she could have just squeezed Adora’s hand back, smiled at her. Told her she was glad to finally be free from the Horde.

If only it was that easy. But her past actions wouldn’t just go away like this.

Not even Adora would forgive her so easily, just because she said that she was sorry.

Catra shook her head, unable to help a sad smile. “I don’t want to stay in here for the rest of my life. I wish she’d just let me die back there.”

“Don’t say that!” Glimmer raised her voice before she could stop herself. “Adora is trying to convince the Queen to let you out as we speak!”

“Why would she be such a fool?! Why can’t she understand that we’re enemies?!”

Catra’s eyes suddenly felt wet, and she didn’t know _why_.

“Why won’t she understand that what we had is over?!”

Just as Catra closed her eyes, trying to breathe, Glimmer leaned in between the bars and took her in her arms.

Catra flinched, barely managing not to hiss and push her away. “What are you-“

“It’s okay,” Glimmer whispered, holding her close. “It’s going to be fine, _Catra_. I promise.”

Tears were freely streaming down Catra’s face now, and she couldn’t bring herself to care.

“It’s not,” was all that she managed to say. Her throat felt tight.

“Calm down,” Glimmer continued in that same, gentle tone. She began caressing the back of Catra’s head in calm, soothing motions.

“What are you doing?” Catra asked. She sounded drained.

“Shhh. My mum does this to me whenever my sobs are too loud to try and calm me down with words,” Glimmer explained with a hint of a smile in her voice. “It helps, right?”

Catra closed her eyes.

Her stiff body was slowly beginning to relax in the girl’s arms. Her tears had stopped.

“It does,” she whispered, though she wasn’t sure if it reached Glimmer’s ears. But she couldn’t bring herself to say it again.

Glimmer was surprised to find that only a few moments later, Catra fell asleep in her arms.

 

* * *

 

When she opened her eyes again, there was light. Not that of the torches down in the dungeons but actual, blessed daylight.

Catra blinked a few times, taking in her surroundings.

There was pink, a lot of pink, and some blue. The room was big with a high ceiling, very much unlike her cramped prison cell. Moreover, there was something incredibly _soft_ under her.

As her senses slowly came back to her, she tried feeling it with her palm; it was a bed, she figured, though she could’ve sworn that no bed could be _this_ soft and comfortable. This was nothing like those back in the Fright Zone, or her prison cell, this was a huge marshmallow melting under her at that very moment.

A moment later, she realized that her hands weren’t bound anymore.

She went to sit up, but her body still hurt and her head felt heavier than ever. She gave up fairly quickly and lay back down, her head sinking into one of the many pillows.

She was about to fall asleep again when she heard the sound of footsteps, followed by a quiet knock on the door.

Catra tensed, but she immediately forced her body to relax. The door opened slowly.

She was nervous, but it was surprising more than anything when Glimmer was the one to walk inside the room, instead of the person she had expected.

Catra struggled to push herself up, her body sinking into the mattress.

Glimmer frowned. “Are you okay? You’re trembling.”

“I’m- fine-“ Catra muttered, trying to steady herself. She smiled tiredly. “Thank you…”

The words were weird in her mouth, the smile strange on her lips. The genuine gratefulness felt warm and heavy inside her chest.

Glimmer was about to say something, but then she heard a third person enter the room. She turned around, smiling brightly.

“Adora!”

As Adora began approaching the bed with slow, careful steps, Glimmer looked at both of them with an encouraging expression and then moved towards the door.

Adora’s face was blank, but for a hint of nervousness that she had failed to conceal.

Catra swallowed, trying to breathe.

She could do this. She had made a decision.

Not even Adora would forgive her so easily, just because she said that she was sorry. Even so…

“I’m sorry. I was-“

Adora wrapped her hands around Catra, cutting her off.

“No, don’t you dare!“ she cried, catching her off-guard. “ _I’m_ sorry!”

Catra’s eyes widened. “What are you talking about?! I’m-“

“I was wrong. I was always there, but I never truly understood what you were going through,” Adora continued, ignoring her protests. “I wish you’d talked to me back then. I’m sorry you couldn’t even tell me how you felt… that’s my fault, too.”

Catra grimaced. “Slow down, it’s not like… I mean…” She trailed off. “You didn’t… You didn’t do anything wrong. You were the only one who was nice to me…”

Adora shook her head, looking at Catra with calm eyes as she held her close. “I thought I was doing everything I could, but you were right; when it came to it, I never truly endangered my own position.”

“Well, you- you didn’t have to!” Catra argued.

“I did,” Adora insisted. “We were supposed to be family, after all. Weren’t we?”

“Stop it,” Catra said, pushing Adora weakly. “Why are you apologizing? I was- that was me! I was the one asking for forgiveness.”

“I forgive you, then,” Adora said without missing a beat. She looked at Catra with a serious expression. “And now I’m asking for your forgiveness.”

Catra hesitated. She placed her palm on Adora’s cheek, without any plans of hurting or scratching her; just feeling her warmth.

Catra met her eyes, and inside them she didn’t see hatred or anger, or any of the things that she thought she had seen before, that she sometimes saw in her sleep.

She saw concern and relief.

“I won’t blame you if you choose not to forgive me. I really won’t,” Adora said quietly. “But I thought- I- I think it’d be nice if we… if we could become family again.”

Catra didn’t know if she could say it. But she did anyway.

“I’d like that.”

Adora smiled as she softly pressed her forehead against hers, her voice muffled by her own crying.

“Thank you…”

**Author's Note:**

> I've like, three more She-Ra oneshots that I want to write. And that kinda scares me. :')
> 
> Since you've come this far, please take a moment to leave a comment and share your thoughts with me! Comments are what keeps me going! :D


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